Jared Porter Wins Country Summer Fender Contender Challenge

SANTA ROSA, Calif. -- Jared Porter, a California born artist who moved to Australia at age 15, is the winner of the Fender Contender Challenge.

Voted the fans' favorite, he will be first to perform at Country Summer, Northern California's biggest country music festival June 5-7 at Sonoma County Event Center. He also wins the $5,000 grand prize.

More than 400,000 votes were cast to determine the Fender Contender Challenge four finalists and ultimate grand prize winner.

Porter was surprised to hear he is the winner on Froggy 92.9 this morning. "Wow man. This is great news. This is so cool!” he said on the Rob and Joss Morning Show, calling in from Queensland Australia.

Porter was the 35th Australian Star Maker winner in 2014. Since winning that award, he has performed at the CMA World GlobaLive Concert in Nashville, toured with Australia's biggest names in country and recorded "East to West," his debut album.

He recently signed an international co-publishing agreement as a songwriter with Dog Whistle Music Australia and Dan Hodge Music Nashville. "Deep End," the first single, climbed the official radio airplay charts to Number 3. "Pieces," the second single, a duet with Kaylee Bell, went one further reaching Number 2.

Currently on tour in Australia, Porter looks forward to venturing back to the Unites States to make it big on the Country Summer stage.

In addition to Porter, Country Summer presented by Lithia RAM of Santa Rosa, features 13 entertainers. Country Summer 2015 headliners include Jake Owen on June 5, The Band Perry on June 6 and Brantley Gilbert on June 7.

The June 5 lineup also includes Gary Allan, Chris Young and Parmalee; June 6 also includes Lee Brice, Jerrod Niemann, Frankie Ballard and The Swon Brothers; and June 7 also includes Trace Adkins, Easton Corbin and Cassadee Pope.

Daily tickets start from $69 for general admission, $99 for reserved seats. A limited number of discount three-day packages are available. To purchase tickets, visit www.countrysummer.com or call 800.514.3849 to order by phone.

Event sponsors include Lithia RAM of Santa Rosa, Friedman's Home Improvement, Bud Light, Montgomery Village, Les Schwab Tire Centers of Sonoma and Mendocino Counties, Leese-Fitch Wines, Jack Daniel's, River Rock Casino, Fender, American AgCredit, Cattlemens, Xfinity, Creams, Papé Material Handling, U.S. Marines, Harris Ranch, the City of Santa Rosa, Santa Rosa Convention & Visitors Bureau and Froggy 92.9.

See Jared Porter's Fender Contender Challenge winning video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41WnimHQQbg.
Visit Jared Porter’s website at http://www.jaredportermusic.com/.

About Fender
Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (FMIC) is one of the world’s leading musical instrument manufacturers, marketers and distributors, whose portfolio of brands includes Fender®, Squier®, Gretsch®, Jackson®, EVH® and Charvel®, among others. For more information, visit www.fender.com.

http://countrysummer.com/

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Top 10 Fender Contender Country Music Challengers Announced

The Top 10 Fender Contender Challengers have been announced, and the fans' favorite will open Country Summer, Northern California's biggest country music festival June 5-7 at Sonoma County Event Center.

Go to www.countrysummer.com to vote for your favorite Fender Contender. The first round of public voting continues through April 15, 2015. Top 10 Fender Contender Challengers include:

Jared Porter - Porter was the Australian Star Maker award winner in 2014. He has performed at the CMA World GlobalLive Concert in Nashville, toured with Australia's biggest names in country and recorded his debut album, "East to West." He's venturing back to the United States in hopes of making it big.

JD Bauman & the Boot Band - Santa Rosa, California has been Bauman's home since birth. The Honky Tonk sound on his newest release profiles his booming baritone accented by the eerie likes of a steel guitar. The band has an impressive resume, having shared the stage with Willie Nelson, Joe Diffie and The Charlie Daniels Band to name a few.

Lindsay Bruce - Born and raised in Northern California, Bruce is the voice of California Country - a blend of her West Coast upbringing and traditional country values, amplified by her last three years in Nashville. Her sound combines the upbeat feel of a summer concert with singer/songwriter relatability. In 2014, she landed a spot on Season 6 of NBC's "The Voice."

LMJ - Lisa Marie Johnson, affectionately referred to as LMJ, blends country, Americana and blues into a style she calls "Stomp and Groove." LMJ has worked her way through college, gigging around the San Francisco Bay area, while also recording. She released her first extended play "This is Me" in 2011 and a full length album in 2012.

Mason Grace - Built by artists Jynette Lynell from Tampa, Florida; Tamara Ray from Bakersfield, California; and Jacqueline Rose from Saint Louis, Missouri, this trio is currently in the studio cutting their latest tunes. Their unique blend of country music transposes modern country to a fun groove with an infectious country swag sound.

McKenna Faith - Faith is a 20-year-old country rock/country pop singer/songwriter and Nashville recording artist from Northern California. She has toured the nation, shared the stage with country's biggest stars and was the #1 Selling Independent Female Country Artist on iTunes in 2013.

Queen Anne's Lace - Carly Graves and Kyle Lino grew up listening to 1990s country music and branched out to alternative rock, pop and bluegrass. "Some of our songs are strongly influenced by pop, and one or two have a bluegrass feeling," Graves said. "We have tried a variety of styles, but you just can't beat feel good country music."

Rob Staley - Staley is a young country music artist living in Los Angeles with a genuine love and respect for "real country music." Since relocating from his small hometown in Plattsburgh, New York, his band is quickly becoming a fabric of the Southern California country music scene. The Rob Staley Band has just released a new record.

SaraBeth - Born and raised in Dallas, SaraBeth is a singer/songwriter making her mark in Nashville as the sweetly southern artist with an edge. She charted two Top 40 singles in 2014. With dates nationwide, she has shared the stage with country superstars, including Brantley Gilbert. Her current self-titled extended play is set for release April 14, 2015.

Tyler Rich - Rich found his love for country music after seeing George Strait at the age of 8. After working on his craft and years of touring across the country with multiple bands, he decided to pursue a solo career. Since that day, he has performed alongside some of the industry's top artists, including Easton Corbin. His debut album will be released in 2015.

One of these great country music acts will perform on the Country Summer Montgomery Village Stage, the main stage. In addition to recognition as a Country Summer superstar, the grand prize winner will receive $5,000.

Based upon the public votes, the Top 10 will be narrowed to the Final 4. The second round of voting will be from April 17 through April 29, 2015 to select the grand prize winner. The winner will be announced May 1, 2015.

To date, Country Summer presented by Lithia RAM of Santa Rosa, has announced 13 of 14 entertainers. Country Summer 2015 headliners include Jake Owen on June 5, The Band Perry on June 6 and Brantley Gilbert on June 7.

In addition to the headliners, the June 5 lineup includes Gary Allan, Chris Young and Parmalee; June 6 includes Lee Brice, Jerrod Niemann, Frankie Ballard and The Swon Brothers; and June 7 includes Trace Adkins, Easton Corbin and Cassadee Pope.

Daily tickets start from $69 for general admission, $99 for reserved seats. A limited number of discount three-day packages are available. To purchase tickets, visit www.countrysummer.com or call 800.514.3849 to order by phone.

Event sponsors include Lithia RAM of Santa Rosa, Bud Light, Montgomery Village, Friedman's Home Improvement, Les Schwab Tire Centers of Sonoma and Mendocino Counties, Leese-Fitch Wines, Jack Daniel's, River Rock Casino, Fender, Creams, Cattlemens, Harris Ranch, the City of Santa Rosa, American AgCredit, Santa Rosa Convention & Visitors Bureau, and Froggy 92.9.

About Fender
Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (FMIC) is one of the world's leading musical instrument manufacturers, marketers and distributors, whose portfolio of brands includes Fender®, Squier®, Gretsch®, Jackson®, EVH® and Charvel®, among others. For more information, visit www.fender.com.

http://countrysummer.com/

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